WJ'^- 


.Jtff. 


^A;/^> 


^y^:. 


t^.r , 


&1<^. 


^•-^$ 


^^iy^^^/l^cG        -2^ 


^y^fLc/hA 


77/^-^1      K^AfLL/h/ncr 


C^ i^  t^-^toTyjh-i  (L- 


■'U^/£icy7yt^     3 


Jottmgs  from  Russia.  323 

JOTTINGS  FROM  RUSSIA. 


[The  following  are  extracts  from  letters  of  Charles  Palache,  '91,  who  has  been 
attending  the  International  Geological  Convention  at  St.  Petersburg,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  Harvard  Universitj--  As  the  title  indicates- they  are  hasty  notes  made 
en  [route,  with  no  thought  of  publication,  and  with  little  or  no  chance  for  revi- 
sion.—Ed.] 

Moscow,  July  28,  1897. 
A  T  LAST  we  are  across  the  border  into  the  New  World  that 
has  aroused  so  much  expectation  in  us  all,  and  perhaps  not  a 
little  fear  as  well.  So  far  our  experiences  have  been  only  of 
the  pleasantest,  and  the  auguries  seem  good  for  our  further  ad- 
vance. And  now  I  am  in  Moscow,  a  fact  of  which  I  have  con- 
stantly to  reassure  myself,  so  unreal  and  impossible  does  it 
seem.  Here  at  last  is  a  city  that  does  not  disappoint  one's 
expectations,  but  even  far  surpasses  our  wildest  dreams. 
Strange  and  new  in  every  feature,  new  architectural  forms,  new 
people  and  customs,  and  above  all,  a  richness  of  coloring  that 
quite  defies  description,  and  is  the  most  impressive  feature  of 
the  scene.  Last  evening  in  the  long  fading  light  of  the  north- 
ern summer  day,  I  stepped  within  the  walls  ot  the  Kremlin 
with  B.  and  for  a  few  moments  we  stopped  in  wonder.  It  was 
a  feast  of  color.  On  either  hand,  large  palaces  of  a  buff 
colored  stucco  framed  a  church  and  cloister  in  fronti  The 
cloister  was  of  a  faint  pinkish  color,  also  in  stucco,  its  roof  of 
a  tender  green  which  is  nearly  the  green  of  old  copper,,  but 
still  different,  and  above  that  rose  a  cluster  of  the  bulbous 
domes  so  characteristic  of  the  country,  covered  with  polished 
gold,  and  here  part  of  them  with  a  deep  blue  that  seemed  in  the 
soft  light  like  richest  plush.  I  was  continually  surprised  to 
find  such  harmony  among  such  apparantly  harsh  combina- 
tions. But  every  turn  showed  us  new  vistas,  each  with  a  new 
or  greater  charm.  Here  the  famous  great  bell  Ivan,  there  and 
on  every  side,  church  after  church,  each  with  its  cluster  of 
gilded  domes,  each  surmounted  with  the  Greek  cross.  Finally 
the  parapet  where  we  could  look  off  across  the  Moskawa  river 
to  the  city  beyond  with  its  countless  domes  and  spires  all  gilded 
and  shining  in  the  fading  light.  The  impressions  of  that  first 
real  sight  of  Russia  are  deep  and  lasting  in  my  memory. 


324  The   University  of  California  Magazine. 

But  I  must  tell  you  how  we  got  there.  We  awaked  to  find 
ourselves  in  Warsaw  early  Sunday  morning.  We  passed  clear 
around  the  city  in  our  car,  going  from  one  depot  to  another, 
and  saw  the  situation  on  the  Vistula  and  the  strong  fortifica- 
tions which  surround  it  on  every  hand.  Our  baggage  deposited 
in  the  station,  we  walked  up  into  the  town,  crossing  the  long 
bridge  over  the  Vistula  and  passing  through  winding  streets  to 
a  hotel,  where  we  should  spend  the  night.  On  the  whole  we 
found  Warsaw  without  great  interest  other  than  that  which  lies 
in  her  varied  and  war-filled  history.  There  are  few  remarka- 
ble memorials  of  the  past,  no  collections,  no  great  palaces.  It 
was  the  street  life  that  was  the  main  attraction,  and  that  was 
very  lively  and  interesting.  The  Polish  type  is  attractive,  still 
thoroughly  European,  but  better  than  expected.  There  were 
more  good-looking  and  well-dressed  women  on  the  streets  than 
I  have  seen  before  for  many  a  day.  It  seems  strange  to  have 
so  many  memorials  of  Dresden  in  this  out-of-the-way  place. 
But  you  know  the  Saxon  kings  held  the  Polish  crown  for  a 
time,  and  left  many  monuments  behind.  The  main  park  is  the 
Saxon  garden,  delightfully  laid  out  in  the  center  of  the  city. 
The  same  Count  Bruehl,  who  left  his  name  in  Dresden,  has  left 
here  a  great  palace,  and  in  other  ways  one  associated  what  one 
saw  with  the  Saxon  capital.  We  heard  an  excellent  concert  by 
a  large  symphony  orchestra  in  the  evening  in  a  little  garden 
in  the  open  air  out  in  the  suburbs.  You  see  in  the  programme, 
with  the  Russian  and  Polish  side  by  side,  how  much  alike  the 
two  languages  must  be  when  spoken.  The  next  morning,  Mon- 
day, found  us  at  the  station  together,  with  forty  other  members 
of  the  Congress  ready  to  take  the  train  to  Moscow.  Of  this 
trip  of  800  miles,  requiring  twenty-nine  hours,  there  is  not  so 
very  much  to  say.     Our  train  was  an  express,  but  we  seemed 

to  stop  at  most  of  the  stations.  The  carriages  were  of  all 
classes,  but  better  than  the  German  ones  in  being  made  with 
corridors,  so  that  one  could  go  from  car  to  car  quite  unhindered. 
Moreover,  the  conductors  or  guards  paid  no  attention  to  one's 
movements,  and  one  could  get  off  at  stations  or  move  about  the 
train  almost  as  freely  as  in  America,  which  was  a  tremendous 
relief  in  a  long  journey. 


Jottings  from  Russia.  325 

The  country  is  a  plains  country,  like  our  prairies  in  some 
parts,  but  different  in  being  for  great  stretches  covered  with 
forests  of  birch,  pines  or  oak,  and  in  being  well  watered  and 
wonderfully  green  and  fresh  in  those  parts  used  for  pasture. 
The  harvest  of  grain  was  in  full  swing,  all  hand-reaped  by  what 
seems  a  very  scanty  population. 

Moscow,  Jtdy  29,  1897. 

Yesterday  was  a  busy  and  pleasant  day.     We  had  to  go 
to  the  bank  for  money,  the  first  thing,  and  as  the  banks  do  not 
open  until  ten  o'clock,  there  was  time  to  kill.     So  1  wandered 
about  the  Market,  taking  photos    of  the   peasants  with  their 
vegetables  heaped  high  on  curious  wagons,  and  of  many  of  the 
fine  horses  with  their  strange  gear  that  are  to  be  seen  on  every 
hand.     By  the  time  we  had  obtained  our  money  and  paid  for 
the  Ural  excursion  at  the  Congress  bureau,  the  morning  was 
gone.     We  lunched  at  the  Eremitage  restaurant  in  true  Russian 
style,  waited  on  by  men,  for  once  not  in  the  conventional  dress 
coat,  but  clad  all  in  white,  full  trowsers,  a  long  white  blouse 
with  a  sort  of  cord  belt  of  magenta  color  on  which  hang  their 
corkscrew,   purse,  etc.     The  lunch  was  also  Russian  enough 
with  Caviar,  Russian  white  wine  and  Russian  cigarettes,  the 
mutton  cutlets  being  more  ordinary.     Lunch  over,  we  joined  a 
crowd  at  the  University  for  the  first  excursion.     One  hundred 
and  fifty  strong,  we  steamed  away  up  into  and  through  the 
Kremlin,  down  to  and  across  the  river  and  on  to  a  canal  where 
a  steamer  awaited  us.     Half  an  hour's  steaming  up  the  river, 
which  winds  along  with  a  low  meadow  bank  on  one  side  and  a 
steep  escarpment  thickly  clad  with  birches  and  dotted  with  vil- 
las on  the  other  brought  us  to  our  landing  place,  and  we  walked 
up  through  the  woods  to  a  restaurant  which  crowns  the  heights. 
The  geology  shown  us  was  practically  nothing,  and  in  that  re- 
spect the  excursion  was  really  absurd;  but  the  view  from  that 
portico  was  incomparable.     Aiforeground  of  green  meadow  land 
with  forest  masses  on  either  hand  and  in  the  more  distant  center 
framed  the  great  city  with  its  innumerable  spires  and  domes, 
campaniles  and  gates, — the  great  dome  of  the  Saviour  Cathe- 
dral like  a  golden  globe  glittering  in  the  center.    There  was  little 


326  The   University  of  California  Maga2ine. 

detail  to  be  seen  except  in  one  or  two  monasteries  which  lay  far 
out  of  the  city,  and  with  their  strange  forms  of  dome  and 
church  and  brilliant  coloring,  gave  life  to  the  scene.  The  total 
effect  was  wonderful,  fairy  like,  a  dream  of  the  East,  and  I 
was  not  sorry  to  sit  there  till  evening,  watching  the  shadows 
slowly  creep  upon  the  distant  city.  Our  point  of  view  was 
called  the  Sparrow  Hills.  Here  I  met  Prof.  Lawson  just  ar- 
rived in  Moscow. 

Post  Riajsk  fidy  ji,  1897. 

We  are  on  our  way  to  the  Ural  at  last,  well  on  our  way  in 
fact,  since  the  first  night  is  past.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a 
boundless  plain,  level  as  the  prairie;  the  horizon  broken  by 
occasional  patches  of  forest  or  the  dome  of  a  village  church. 
The  forest  is  mostly  birch,  the  Russian  national  tree.  The 
harvest  of  grain,  Egyptian  corn,  (Brosso),  or  potatoes,  is 
mostly  harvested,  and  the  yellow  stubble  fields  dotted  with 
cocks  of  grain  sheafs,  are  only  broken  by  the  brown  of  the  sum- 
mer-fallowed portions.  A  village  is  near  at  hand;  low  mud, 
(adobe)  huts,  heavily  thatched  with  straw,  straggle  along  on 
either  side  of  one  long  street.  A  few  trees,  generally  one  or 
more  four-armed  wind  mills  to  grind  the  grist,  and  for  the  rest, 
the  one-horse  wagons  bringing  in  the  grain  to  the  stacks;  a  field 
of  buckwheat  white  in  blossom — a  single  peasant  woman 
trudging  along  the  dusty  road,  legs  to  the  knees  wrapped  about 
with  gray  cloth,  the  feet  in  grass  sandals  with  cross  lacings,  the 
chief  garment,  a  long  coat  of  yellowish  color  with  a  bright  red 
border,  and  on  the  head  a  gay  handkerchief.  Thus  a  bit  of 
living  color  in  the  monotonous  and  dreary  scene.  Our  train  is 
a  special  one  of  about  twelve  cars  to  contain  our  two  hundred 
excursionists.  The  cars  are  both  first  and  second  class,  the 
former  painted  in  bright  blue,  the  latter  in  yellow.  The  ar- 
rangements of  both  are  the  same,  fairly  good  for  this  country, 
but  nothing  to  boast  of. 

Batraki  near  Syczan  on  the  Volga,  August  i,  iSgy. 
We  reached  here  early  this  morning  after  the  second  night 
out  from  Moscow.     After  our  breakfast  of  dry  bread  and  tea 
(clear,  weak  and  with  lemon  in  true  Russian  fashion)  and  after 


Jottmgs  from  Russia.  327 

a  muster  of  our  large  crowd  of  excursionists  for  the  purpose  of 
explaining  our  day's  trip,  we  all  tramped  down  to  the  banks  of 
the  Volga  and  boarded  the  paddle-wheeled  tug-boat  which 
awaited  us.  After  the  long  and  dusty  journey  by  rail,  it  was  a 
great  delight  to  get  out  into  the  fresh  air  of  the  river ;  and  I  sat 
surrounded  by  several  congenial  friends,  high  in  the  bow, 
breathing  in  the  pure  air,  and  singing  out  of  pure  exuberance 
of  spirits.  We  went  down  stream  for  an  hour,  passing  on  the 
bank  two  of  the  simple  Russian  villages  crowded  with  Sunday 
holiday  visitors,  all  in  their  bright  red  frocks  and  queer  sandals 
or  high  felt  boots.  We  landed  on  the  bank  at  the  base  of  a 
high  bluff  whose  rocks  were  full  of  fossils,  whose  striking  simi- 
larity to  those  Prof.  Lawson  and  I  had  laboriously  collected  at 
home,  added  another  feature  to  the  many  that  reminded  us  of 
California.  It  was  a  warm  day,  the  sky  filled  with  floating 
white  clouds,  the  hills  round  about  bare  and  brown  and 
the  roads  deep  in  dust,  so  that  it  was  very  easy  to  imagine  our- 
selves in  the  California  foothills.  But  the  aspect  of  the  people 
quite  banished  the  analogy;  especially  when  on  our  return,  we 
met  the  oddly-shaped  boats  crowded  to  the  brim  with  the  scarlet- 
f rocked,  bearded  fellows,  their  one  lanteen  sail  filled  to  the  gen- 
tle down  stream  breeze.  We  Americans  (half  a  dozen  at  least) 
left  the  crowd  on  landing  and  hurried  off  to  the  luxury  of  a  bath, 
— the  first  in  many  days,  and  not  less  delightful  than  neces- 
sary. This  past,  we  searched  for  fossils  and  soon  whiled  away 
the  two  hours  before  return.  At  2:30  we  got  back  to  "break- 
fast," which  was  served  on  tables  set  in  box  cars  (freight  cars), 
which  are  doubtless  to  be  our  traveling  restaurants  from  now 
on.  The  afternoon  was  spent  in  a  second  excursion  up  stream, 
where  we  again  bathed,  and  where  I  took  my  first  lesson  in 
swimming  (imagine  in  the  Volga),  which  I  am  determined  shall 
not  be  my  last. 

Our  crowd  is  overwhelmingly  German,  two-thirds  at  least. 
Some  twenty-five  Americans,  ten  English,  six  Italians,  six 
French,  six  Mexicans,  two  Japanese,  ten  Russians,  and  the 
rest  of  German  speaking  races,  make  a  rough  estimate  of  our 
varied  party.     So  far  all  has  gone  well,  and  the  splendid  organ- 


328  The   University  of  California  A/agazifie. 

ization  of  the  arrangements  bespeaks  a  prospect  of  a  pleasant 
journey. 

The  Volga  is  here  a  large  river,  but  hardly  impresses  one  as 
so  great  as  the  largest  river  in  Europe  should  be.  It  is,  per- 
haps, half  a  mile  wide,  but  not  uniformly  deep,  and  in  many 
places  is  cut  up  by  sand  banks  into  many  channels.  The 
water  is  dirty  brown,  not  muddy,  but  discolored  and  runs  at  a 
goodly  rate.  There  is  much  traffic  on  its  surface — huge  barges 
towed  up  and  down  by  paddle-wheeled  steamers,  large  pas- 
senger steamers,  smaller  sailing  craft,  and  lastly,  huge  rafts  of 
timber  flitted  out  for  the  long  journey  they  make  with  little 
houses,  and  provided  v^•ith  huge  rudders  to  guide  them  in  the 
winding  channel.  On  the  whole,  Central  Russia  makes  a  pleas- 
ant impression  on  the  passer-by.  A  purely  agricultural  coun- 
try and  seemingly  not  very  thickly  inhabited,  it  seems  to  be 
fairly  fertile,  and  gives  a  fair  return  to  the  peasant  labor. 
These  are  a  rather  poor  and  stupid  looking  lot  on  the  whole,  but 
seem  happy  and  not  discontented.  Their  raiment  is  poor,  often 
ragged,  but  whether  this  is  due  to  poverty,  I  do  not  know. 
Coarse  features  are  the  rule,  and  short,  stout  figures.  The 
hair,  red  or  black — often  in  heavy  beards,  and  the  head 
crowned  with  a  heavy  mop,  falling  to  the  same  length  all 
around  with  curious  effect. 

When  we  left  the  supper  station  last  evening,  we  Ameri- 
cans got  together  and  gave  them  three  times  three  Rahs!  and  a 
"Rossia"  on  the  end.  The  huge  crowd  of  Monjiks  who  had 
gathered  to  see  us  eat  and  depart  seemed  pleased  and  amused, 
and  as  our  train  pulled  out,  returned  our  cheer  with  interest 
though  not  in  concert,  their  cry  being  apparently  much  like  our 
Hurrah!     It  was  pleasantly  done  and  well  meant. 

Wia20vayah,  AugJist  7,   iSpy. 

You  don't  know  what  a  curious  feeling  of  unreality  there 
was  about  receiving  your  letter  last  night  in  this  so  out  of  the 
way  corner  of  the  world.  Here  we  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
Urals,  seemingly  cut  off  entirely  from  civilization,  for  none  of  us 
have  heard  a  word  of  what  is  going  on  outside  of  our  train  since 


Jottings  from  Russia.  329 

we  left  Moscow.  And  still  your  letter  comes  to  me  from  far  off 
California,  your  familiar  address  unaltered,  as  simply  as  though 
I  were  in  my  room  at  Cambridge.  Thank  you  for  making  this 
connecting  link  for  me.  Monday  we  had  a  glorious  day  on  the 
Volga,  starting  from  the  big  trading  city  of  Samara,  going  up 
stream  with  two  landings — lunch  on  board  and  after  a  bath,  re- 
turning in  ihe  evening  amid  the  most  magnificent  coloring  I 
have  ever  seen.  During  the  night  we  went  on  again,  and  in 
the  morning  made  a  short  halt  for  an  excursion,  then  on  again 
to  Oufa  where  we  arrived  about  three  in  the  afternoon.  .  Car- 
riages were  here  awaiting  us,  and  we  went  off  in  long  procession 
through  crowds  of  peasants  staring  with  good  natured  curiosity, 
through  streets  in  which  each  house  bore  flags  of  welcome, 
through  a  gaily  flagged  triumphal  arch  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
where,  escorted  by  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  we  saw  the 
geology.  We  were  already  in  a  country  of  Tartars  —  more 
properly  Tatars — fine  strong  fellows  with  distinctly  Mongolian 
features.  Thence  we  drove  to  the  Town  Museum,  where  a 
most  hospitable  reception  awaited  us  from  the  local  officers. 
Champagne  was  passed  and  we  drank  the  toast  offered  by  the 
President  of  the  Museum,  which  was  answered  by  our  Ameri- 
can, Dr.  James  Hall,  the  patriarch  of  our  flock.  Thence  to  a 
bath  in  the  river,  tea  in  the  station  garden,  (the  omnipresent, 
"tchai"  which  is  always  in  order  in  Russia),  and  so  to  bed. 
The  next  morning,  Wednesday,  found  us  at  Acha,  a  tiny 
station,  but  really  in  the  Urals  for  the  first  time.  From  here 
we  walked  along  the  railway  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  through 
the  very  pretty  valley  of  the  Sim  to  Miniar.  The  scenery  re- 
minds one  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  though  not  quite  so 
bold.  It  was  a  very  hot  day,  and  you  may  believe  we  were  not 
sorry  to  find  half  way  a  huge  "deposit"  of  beer  and  soda 
water  (gift  of  the  foundry  and  mine  people  of  Miniar),  cool  and 
good,  with  which  to  eat  our  cold  lunch.  Our  meals  were  at  all 
hours  that  day,  the  main  meal  was  eaten  at  about  4  o'clock  on 
our  arrival  at  Miniar ;  but  not  before  having  had  a  bath  in  the 
river.  After  that  we  walked  up  to  the  town  (the  railway  sta- 
tions are  nearly  always  from  two  to  four  miles  from  the  town 


330  The   University  of  California  I\Iagazine. 

for  military  reasons),  saw  the  big  iron  foundry,  climbed  one  of 
tlie  neighboring  hills  for  a  widespread  view  and  walked  back 
in  the  falling  darkness  through  the  wide  streets  of  the  town, 
in  which  stood  all  the  population.  We  were  glad  to  get  to  the 
train,  and  after  "tchai"  to  crawl  into  our  bunks. 

Thursday  was  in  a  way  a  repetition  of  the  previous  day, 
but  with  more  pronounced  hospitality  and   more  enjoyment. 
Reaching  the  station  Simskaia  in  the  early  morning  (the  dis- 
tances we  move  ahead  each  day  are  small,  and  so  the  train  re- 
mains still  all  night,  thus  giving  us  a  good  sleep).     We  took  a 
short  walk  to  see  the  geological   section   there,  and   then   by 
droschke  and  by  tramway  (a  five-mile  road  built  for  our  con- 
venience !)  we  were  taken  to  the  town  of  Simsk,  where  is  a  sec- 
ond large  iron  foundry.     Here  we  were  ushered  into  the  large 
house  of  the  proprietor  and  into  the  garden,  where  we  found  a 
huge  pavilion  decorated  with  flags  of  all  nations  and  with  fra- 
grant evergreens,  erected  for  our  entertainment.     Wine,  beer, 
drinks  of  all  sorts  were  served  by  the  hostess  and  her  daughters, 
and  the  host  and  his  brother  officers  were  everywhere  with 
smiling  faces  and  urgent  hospitality.     Reluctantly  leaving  the 
tables  we  took  a  glorious  walk  up  the  canyon  near  at  hand ; 
climbed  the  highest  hill  and  drank  in  the  view  of  mountain,  val- 
ley, lake  and  town.     I  may  as  well  say  that  so  far  the  geology 
has  been  of  little  special   interest  to  me,  as  it  has  dealt  wholly 
with  fossils  and  stratified  rock.     In  two  or  three  days  we  will 
come  into  regions  v^'here  minerals  and  volcanic  rocks  play  their 
part.     At  present  1  learn  more  by  going  out  with  Prof.  Lawson 
and  other  Americans  to  the  summits,  from  which  we  study  the 
forms  in  a  more  general  way. 

Returning  we  had  a  glorious  bath  in  the  clear  cold  water  of 
the  lake,  and  were  then  taken  to  the  house,  where  there  was 
singing  by  the  ladies  and  others.  But  dinner  vvas  the  event, 
and  we  were  soon  all  in  the  pavilion — careless  of  a  heavy  pas- 
sing thunder  storm  and  occupied  to  the  full  with  a  fme  meal 
with  only  too  much  wine  as  accompaniment.  Soup,  delicious 
fish,  fowl  and  roast,  all  with  strange  flavors  but  good.  Toasts 
were  offered  by  the  representatives  of  most  of  the  nations,  the 


Jottings  from  Russia.  331 

Italians  being  far  the  best,  in  delivery  at  least.  The  Americans 
raised  a  cheer  for  the  host  and  Russia,  and  sang  "For  He  Is  a 
Jolly  Good  Fellow."  The  Germans  and  Russians  sang  na- 
tional songs  in  turn — some  music  was  introduced,  and  after  the 
lively  ones  had  each  had  a  turn  with  the  ladies  of  the  place 
and  the  excursion,  some  peasants  (two  men)  gave  us  a  Russian 
dance.  Then  all  sang  the  grand  hymn  of  "God  Bless  the  No- 
ble Czar" — and  we  rode  off  under  the  stars  for  the  train  again. 
Stick  is  geology  in  the  Urals! 

Friday  morning  we  found  ourselves  in  a  pouring  rain,  true 
Ural  weather.  So  out  came  high  boots  and  waterproofs  and  we 
all  turned  out  for  a  seven  mile  tramp  along  the  railroad  to  Oust- 
Kataff.  Here  again  in  a  gaily  decorated  pavilion  was  a  break- 
fast prepared  by  local  officials.  The  usual  Russian  "prepara- 
tory snacks"  consisting  of  caviar,  salt  fish,  cheese,  etc.;  and 
then  the  meal  of  fish  pie,  cold  suckling-pig  with  a  sauce  of  sour 
cream  and  horse-radish,  pickled  cucumbers,  cake  and  oranges 
and  lastly  boiled  caidiflotver  and  beans  !  You  may  imagine  that 
beer  and  wine  are  more  or  less  necessary  to  carry  off  such  a  meal. 
Then  came  a  walk  to  the  town,  as  usual  three  or  four  miles 
away — fossil  hunting — mutual  staring  competition  between  ex- 
cursionists and  natives  who  followed  us  by  hundreds  —  a  Ger- 
man tries  to  ride  and  dislocate  his  elbow,  thus  increasing  the 
number  in  the  hospital  car.  Return  at  dusk  to  dinner  in  the 
restaurant  train,  "tchai"  and  bed. 

This  morning  we  are  in  the  station  of  Wiazovayah,  and 
while  the  party  makes  a  short  local  excursion  I  am  writing  in 
the  station.  Presently  we  take  wagons  for  a  thirty-mile  drive 
to  the  iron  mines  of  Bakal,  where  we  spend  the  night.  The 
rain  still  hangs  over  and  the  warmest  clothing  we  have  is  not 
too  warm  for  comfort. 

I  hardly  need  to  emphasize,  after  the  above  narrative,  the 
wonderful  hospitality  that  we  are  receiving  on  every  hand. 
When  we  remember  that  we  are  really  "dead-heads"  it  is  al- 
most humiliating  to  see  the  way  we  are  greeted  on  every  side. 
Officials  salute  us,  peasants  uncover  as  we  pass,  all  show  the 
liveliest  interest  in  making  us  comfortable  and  at  home. 

\To  be  continued.'\ 


332  The   University  of  California  Magazi^ie. 


THE 


University  of  California  Magazine 

(Official  Organ  of  the  Alumni  Association.) 


PUBLISHED  MONTHLY  DURING  THE  COLLEGE  YEAR 


BOARD  OF    EDITORS. 

Cottm«//orj— Professors  Wm.  Carey  Jowes  and  Thomas  R.  Bacok. 

Ex-Officio  Alumni  Editors— W.  R.  DAVIS,  President  Of  the  Alumni  Association, 
James  Sutton,  Secretary  of  the  Alumni  Association. 

Editors— B..  A.  OvERSTREET,  '98  (chief  editor),  Miss  Marion  Whipple,  '98,  Miss 
Mary  Bell,  '98,  Charles  E.  Fryer,  '99,  Harold  S.  Symmes,  '99,  Willaed  G. 
Parsons,  '99. 

'Business  Manager — WILL  C.  RussELL. 


[The  subscription  price  of  the  magazine  is  81.50  per  year,  payable  in  advance. 
Failure  of  the  manager  to  receive  a  noiice  from  subscribers  to  discontinue  sending 
the  publication  will  be  taken  as  an  intimation  that  the  subscription  is  to  be  con- 
tinued. Advertising  rates  will  be  sent  on  application  to  the  manager,  Box  213, 
Berkeley,  Cal.] 

The  magazine  is  on  sale  at  Bancroft's  and  Abbott's  in  Berkeley ;  at  the  Stu- 
dents' Co-operative  Store;  Smith's  in  Oakland,  and  at  Doxey's  in  San  Francisco. 


IVT  BRUNETIERE,  the  eminent  French  critic  and  editor  of 
the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  who  has  recently  been  lec- 
turing in  America,  pays  a  high  compliment  to  President  Gil- 
man's  work  in  the  organization  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 
"When  the  endowment  was  made,"    he  says,  "they  went  to 

the   remotest  part  of  California to    look  for  a  former 

professor  of  Yale,   Mr.  Daniel  Oilman With  the 

correctness  of  eye,  and  the  rapidity  of  decision  which  are  his 
characteristic  traits  and  make  him  an  eminent  man,  Mr.  Gil- 
man  acknowledged  that  the  occasion  was  unique.  He  saw  that 
in  a  city  like  Baltimore,  if  one  had  the  good  sense  to  waste 


Adaptation  of  Love  for   Love.  373 

rage  for  "  My  Aunt  Bridget  "  and  "Charley's  Aunt  "  has  had 
a  bad  effect  on  those  in  New  York  who  train  for  genteel 
comedy. 

As  a  whole,  however,  the  play  was  well  staged  and  well 
acted.  The  success  of  the  performance — the  audience  stayed 
to  applaud  it  heartily  at  the  end — made  one  wish  that  it  might 
be  the  first  of  many  such  revivals,  and  that  Professor  Syle,  or 
someone  as  skilful,  as  he,  might  be  the  adapter  for  a  profes- 
sional company.  GEO.  P.  Baker. 

[—The  Editor  exprosses  his  thanks  to  Professor  Baker  of  Harvard  for  his 
kindess  in  sending  this  account  of  the  play.  ] 


374  T^'^^   University  of  California  Magazine. 

JOTTINGS  FROM    RUSSIA. 


[From  the  letters  of  Charles  Palache,  '91.] 


Slatoonst,  August  gth,  1897. 
A  RRIVED  here  early  this  morning,  we  made  an  excursion  to 
study  the  hills  between  the  station  and  the  town,  and  hav- 
ing lost  the  excursion  and  returned  to  the  station  with  an  hour 
before  lunch,  I  sit  down  for  a  little  chat.  As  I  said  in  my  last, 
we  have  had  a  two  days'  trip  away  from  the  railroad.  And 
such  a  trip  as  it  was  !  At  last  I  know  what  it  really  is  to  travel 
in  Russian  vehicles,  and  have  a  keen  sense  of  "  Ural  weather." 
About  noon  (by  local  time,  which  is  two  hours  in  advance  of  the 
St.  Petersburg  time  by  which  we  eat,  sleep  and  travel,)  the 
crowd  of  travelers  distributed  themselves  by  twos  in  the  strange 
looking  vehicles  which  had  been  waiting  about  all  morning. 
Imagine  a  long  buck-board,  the  platform  made  of  springy 
birch-poles  with  wide  interspaces,  mounted  on  rather  low 
wheels,  very  loose  on  the  axles  and  rickety  looking.  Place  in 
the  middle  of  the  platform  a  big  basket  of  wicker-work,  (a  wash 
woman's  basket  on  a  large  scale,)  half  filled  with  hay  and  just 
long  enough  to  let  you  stretch  your  legs  out  when  sitting  up 
straight.  A  seat  for  the  driver  in  his  long  leather  coat,  so 
placed  that  he  sits  higher  than  his  passengers.  Two  scraggy, 
tough  little  broncos  to  pull  it,  one  in  the  shafts  with  the  high 
wooden  arch  over  his  head,  which  serves  to  hold  the  shafts  to- 
gether and  at  the  same  time  to  bind  them  to  the  collar  by  which 
the  draft  is  made — the  other  attachment  by  a  loose  whiffle  tree, 
on  one  side  a  single  rein,  pulling  his  head  down  and  out  as  far 
a  check  attached  to  the  shafts  will  allow.  Such  is  a  poor  sketch 
of  the  most  common  vehicle  in  this  part  of  Russia,  the 
"  brachka"  as  it  is  called,  or  when  a  horse  runs  on  either  side, 
a  "troika."  Sometimes  a  folding  cover  is  provided,  and  then 
it  is  called  a  "tarantass."  Sometimes  the  basket  is  replaced  by  a 
box  or  sort  of  platform  on  which  four  people  sit,  back  to  back. 


Jottings.  375 

The  buck-board  form  is,  however,  universal  and  gives  a  sway- 
ing, jerky  motion  to  the  vehicle,  which  is  not  so  bad  on  a  smooth 
road  but  becomes  horribly  tiresome  on  the  rough  roads,  which 
seem  to  be  the  rule  here.  Off  went  our  seventy  wagons ; 
horses  at  full  gallop  in  a  race  for  place,  drivers  yelling  and 
cracking  whips,  wagons  creaking,  passengers  shouting  to 
friends  or  to  driver.  Occasionally  along  the  route,  the  road 
would  widen  out  into  a  dozen  tracks  and  then  the  drivers  would 
send  their  horses  at  tremendous  pace  to  try  for  a  place  ahead. 
To  look  forward  or  behind  at  the  mass  of  plunging  horses  and 
swaying  wagons  threading  here  or  there  was  a  sight  to  remem- 
ber. When  going  along  down  hill  in  close  order  at  full  galop, 
(the  shaft  horse  always  trots,  however,)  it  is  rather  terrifying 
at  first,  for  they  leave  only  a  few  feet  between  the  wagons,  and 
when  the  column  is  brought  to  a  halt,  the  horses  often  climb  up 
on  the  next  wagons'  back  before  they  can  stop.  Again  at  a 
halt,  the  drivers  all  push  up  as  far  as  possible,  and  there  is  a 
jam  and  a  crush,  apparently  inextricable.  But  on  they  go 
again,  scrambling  for  place,  swearing  at  one  another  and  lash- 
ing their  horses.  Away  we  went  for  five  solid  hours,  through 
a  country  of  heavy  woods  of  birch  and  pine — more  or  less  moun- 
tainous, but  the  slopes  not  very  steep,  and  the  valleys  wide 
and  grassy,  dotted  with  clumps  of  trees.  Rain  fell  at  intervals, 
but  was  not  heavy.  It  was  night-fall  with  heavy,  lowering 
clouds  when  we  passed  through  the  village  of  Bakal,  going  on 
to  the  mines  where  we  were  to  find  quarters.  We  were  divided 
into  parties,  entertained  by  two  hosts.  I  fell  into  the  party 
which  was  taken  high  up  on  top  of  the  mountain  ;  and  here  in 
a  log  house  we  found  a  good  warm  dinner  awaiting  us.  We 
slept  on  straw,  ten  in  a  room,  and  I  for  one  had  a  restless  night. 
We  woke  at  our  leader's  call  at  2  130  A.  A\.;  made  a  poor  toilet, 
had  a  rather  forlorn  breakfast,  and  then  walked  through  rain 
and  heavy  mist  a  mile  and  a  half  down  to  the  other  house  where 
we  were  to  find  our  leader,  Tschernycheff.  He  had  lost  his 
voice  through  a  cold,  and  at  the  same  time  seemed  to  have  lost 
h's  \  .'.I  d,  for  throughout  the  day,  we  were  sent  about  aimlessly 


376  The   University  of  Caifornia  Magazine. 

and  ignorant  of  what  we  were  to  do.  We  waited  two  miserable 
hours,  (which  might  just  as  well  have  been  passed  in  bed,) 
made  a  tour  of  the  huge  pits  where  the  iron  ore  is  mined,  and 
then  again  waited — cold  and  dismal  till  lunch  and  departure. 
Altogether  that  Sunday  is  memorable  for  its  discomforts  and 
mismanagement.  Our  descent  was  marked  by  a  break  about 
midway  of  the  forty  versts,  (twenty-five  miles,)  at  the  town  of 
Satuka.  We  were  led  into  an  iron  smelting  plant  where  they 
were  just  ready  to  make  a  run  of  iron  into  pigs.  The  fiery 
liquid  streams  were  beautiful,  and  still  better,  gave  out  an 
intense  heat,  very  acceptable  to  our  tired,  cold  bodies.  There 
was  also  an  outcrop  in  the  town  which  we  had  to  see,  and  we 
proceeded  on  foot  up  the  main  street  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd, 
containing,  I  should  think,  nearly  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  the  town,  certainly  not  less  than  three  thousand.  The  mass 
of  brakhas  and  troikas  moving  and  turning  in  the  broad  street, 
the  crowd  of  staring  but  very  good  natured  natives  made  a 
lively  picture,  and  I  was  sorry  that  it  was  too  dark  to  obtain 
any  photographs  of  the  scene.  Wet  and  tired  we  reached  our 
train  at  nightfall,  and  were  glad  enough  to  get  on  some  dry 
clothes  and  eat  some  warm  dinner. 

Tcheliabinsk,  Asia,  A7ignst  ijth,  iSpj. 
I  find  it  hard  to  realize  in  any  adequate  degree  that  I  have 
crossed  the  Urals,  and  that  Europe  is  behind  me.  Last  night 
the  sun  went  down  in  a  golden  haze  behind  the  low  range  of  the 
eastern  Ural  foothills.  I  have  put  the  question  to  myself  time 
and  again,  to  make  sure  it  was  so.  There  is  little  here  to  show 
it.  We  are  again  on  the  Steppe  which  so  far  in  Siberia  differs 
not  at  all  from  the  plains  of  Russia.  Only  in  the  weather  do 
we  note  a  marked  difference,  for  after  a  solid  week  of  rain,  fog, 
damp  and  discomfort,  we  are  suddenly  transported  to  heat  and 
dust. 

Avgnsi  12,  i8gy. 
Thursday  was  a  memorable  day.     Leaving  Slatonst  early, 
the  train  pulled  up  to  a  small  station  on  the  summit  of  the  pass 


Jottings.  377 

over  the  main  chain  and  watershed  of  the  Urals.  It  was  a 
glorious  morning  of  sun  and  masses  of  floating  clouds,  inspirit- 
ing and  inspiring.  We  all  tumbled  out  and  trooped  off  through 
the  rather  flat  and  marshy  meadows  that  run  all  through  the 
ridge  summits  here ;  even  through  the  forests,  for  a  mile  and  a 
half  toward  a  rocky  peak,  Alexandrofskiasopka,  which  rises 
abruptly  above  the  level  ridge.  Once  on  the  rocks,  it  was  a 
sort  of  race  for  the  summit,  which  1  was  the   first  to   reach, 

though  closely  followed  by  B ,  R and  L ;  and  later 

by  others,  chiefly  Americans.  A  magnificent  panorama  lay 
beneath  us — the  most  interesting  part  being,  of  course,  that  on 
the  Asiatic  side.  Range  after  range  of  level-topped,  tree-clad 
mountains,  with  here  and  there  peaks  rising,  like  our  own, 
above  the  general  level.  Of  these  the  most  prominent  was  the 
Taganai  group,  a  little  higher  than  we  were,  about  four  thou- 
sand feet.  Toward  the  east  a  level  sky-line  formed  by  the  dis- 
tant Siberian  plain  ;  with  a  new  feature,  many  lakes  lying  in 
flat  basins.  The  fresh  breeze,  the  unwonted  sunshine,  the 
grand  shifting  cloud  masses,  the  color  of  rock  and  forest  were 
all  delightful,  and  we  left  unwillingly  after  an  hour  spent  on 
the  summit.  At  the  foot  we  found  some  wine,  with  which  we 
drank  adieu  to  our  leader,  Tschernycheff,  who  is  replaced  by 
another,  Karpinsky.  I  forgot  to  say  that  most  of  the  party 
stopped  short  of  the  summit,  on  a  point  a  hundred  feet  below, 
leaving  the  craggy  ridge  for  a  few  of  us.  We  photographed 
one  another  in  all  sorts  of  seemingly  dangerous  positions,  but 
there  was  really  no  difficulty  of  any  sort  there.  We  returned 
to  lunch,  and  then  the  train  took  us  on  to  Miass.  Here  we  took 
wagons,  ever  the  same  helter-skelter  sort  of  things  and  drove 
a  short  way,  passed  the  lake  of  llmen,  to  the  gold  placers,  where 
the  whole  process  was  shown  us: — the  mining  of  the  gravel, 
which  is  simple,  (it  is  not  very  rich,)  the  washing — the  clean- 
ing of  the  riffles  where  the  gold  is  caught  with  quicksilver,  and 
finally  the  retorting  of  the  amalgam.  The  sight  was  novel  to 
a  majority  of  the  party.  To  us  familiar  with  the  refined 
methods  of  California,  the  process  was  crude  and  wasteful ;  and 


378  The   University  of  California  Magazine. 

it  seemed  a  wonder  that  it  was  profitable.  The  scene  was  ren- 
dered picturesque  by  the  crowds  of  workmen  and  women,  (Bas- 
keeri  and  Tartars,)  who  stood  about  in  their  ragged,  clumsy 
looking  garments  and  straw  sandals.  The  carriages  took  us  up 
again  as  evening  fell,  and  a  dusty  ride  of  two  versts  brought  us 
to  the  town  where  we  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  again — bowing 
to  left  and  right  of  a  staring  crowd  who  lined  the  streets.  Our 
dignity  was  rather  lessened  by  the  village  herd  of  several  hun- 
dred scrawny  cattle  which  was  meandering  through  the  main 
street  at  the  same  time  with  us.  We  were  landed  at  the  main 
house  of  the  town,  which  proved  to  be  a  sort  of  theater,  where, 
amid  garlands  of  evergreens  the  tables  were  set  for  supper — 
the  hospitality  of  the  mine  owners.  The  full  moon  lighted  us  on 
our  way  to  the  station. 

This  morning  we  made  an  early  start  to  visit  the  famous 
mineral  localities  near  Miass,  chiefly  in  a  range  of  hills  known  as 
the  Ilmen  mountams,  and  all  day  long  my  hammer  has  been 
going  incessantly.  It  has  been  far  the  most  interesting  day  for 
the  mineralogists,  and  as  I  was  in  luck  and  made  some  of  the 
best  finds  of  the  day,  I  felt  well  repaid  for  my  hard  work. 

Kychtym,  Asia,  Aicg.  //,  i8gy. 

We  awoke  this  morning  to  find  a  lowering,  clouded  sky  and 
rain.  We  were  up  early,  and  after  "tchai"  were  sent  off  in 
batches  of  thirty  at  half-hour  intervals  for  a  twenty-verst  ride 
to  and  through  a  gold  mine.  The  rain  had  pleasantly  laid  the 
dust,  and  the  ride  in  the  fresh  damp  air  with  the  jingling  bells 
and  rapid  motion  was  pleasant.  Our  way  lay  for  several  miles 
out  of  Tchliabinsk  along  the  great  Siberian  road,  over  which  so 
many  exiles  have  plodded  their  weary  way.  It  is  a  broad  road, 
fully  one  hundred  feet  wide,  rather  winding  and  slightly  undu- 
lating, but  in  this  part  fairly  level.  The  roadbed  of  granite 
sand  is  smooth  and  good,  the  first  good  road  we  have  been  on. 
It  runs  for  long  stretches  through  forests  of  white  birch,  and  a 
double  row  of  especially  large  ones  is  planted  all  alon^i,  giving  a 
charming  effect. 


Jottings.  379 

Medrioroivdiansk  (near  Nisck?ii  Tagilsk),  Aiig.  ig,  i8gj. 

We  went  down  the  gold  mine,  to  which  I  referred  ;  a  small, 
new  quartz  mine,  very  clean,  lighted  by  incandescent  lights 
and  easy  and  interesting  to  see.  The  mill  was  primitive,  a  sort 
of  improved  arastra  process,  and  1  suppose  they  may  save  50 
or  60  per  cent  of  the  gold.  We  were  then  served  to  a  cold 
lunch  by  the  mine  people,  and  visited  a  neighboring  village,  an 
entirely  new  type,  which  we  took  to  be  characteristic  of  the 
Siberian  Steppe,  but  it  may  not  be  so.  The  houses  are 
wretched  affairs  of  mud,  two-thirds  under  ground,  with  a  single 
window  flush  with  the  earth,  and  a  heavy  roof  of  earth  resting 
upon  birch  brush.  We  went  into  one  of  the  hovels  and  found 
it  stuffy  and  miserable,  but  despite  the  earth  floor  and  dark- 
ness it  seemed  clean  and  habitable.  The  effect  of  these  low 
huts,  with  their  dome-like  roofs  merging  with  the  soil  all  about, 
was  very  queer  and  miserable. 

After  returning  and  looking  about  the  town,  we  took  a  train 
for  the  next  station,  Kychtym,  this  time  on  the  Ural  railway, 
turning  toward  the  north.  Oh  !  a  queer  incident  in  the  market 
at  Tcheliabinsk.  I  stepped  out  of  the  carriage  to  look  at  some 
wares  in  a  little  booth,  and  the  first  article  1  put  my  hand  on 
was  a  whetstone  from  Nezv  Hajupshiref 

The  afternoon  of  the  15th  was  consumed  in  preparation  for, 
and  discussion  of,  a  fme  dinner  given  by  the  director  of  the 
local  iron  works.  His  house  was  palatial  in  size,  though  very 
plain  in  finish.  The  dinner  was  good  and  very  lively.  Before 
sitting  down  you  are  ushered  into  a  side  room  to  partake  of  the 
"Sakusska,"  or  appetizer.  Here  is  a  table  set  with  a  variety 
of  dishes — cold  and  salt  fish,  caviar,  cold  meats,  pickles,  occa- 
sionally some  hot  stew  or  made  dish,  and  bread  and  butter. 
The  proper  form  is  to  take  first  a  glass  of  vodke  (the  Russian 
name  for  pure  alcohol),  or  of  the  many  other  drinks  set  out, 
such  as  port,  sherry,  cognac,  bitters,  etc.;  then  a  bite  of  as 
many  of  the  edibles  as  you  wish,  and  then  another  glass  of  the 
liquors.  Often  the  Russians  eat  what  would  be  a  good  lunch 
at  this  table.     Then follozcs  the 'pxo'per  me3.\.     We  had  soup,  in 


380  The  University  of  California  Magazine. 

which  is  generally  served  a  sort  of  doughnut  with  a  chopped 
meat  center  (pirogga),  then  a  fish  pie.  Then  roast  beef  with 
half  a  dozen  kinds  of  vegetables  served  on  the  same  platter, 
and  the  whole  elaborately  decorated  with  cut  vegetables  on  sil- 
ver skewers  and  with  pastry  forms.  Then  grouse,  the  bird  be- 
ing attested  by  placing  on  either  platter  a  specimen  in  full 
plumage,  rather  well  mounted  in  some  cases.  Following  this 
was  cauliflower  and  green  peas  served  with  sweet  butter  sauce. 
Lastly,  a  fruit  pudding.  Sherry,  port,  beer,  claret  and  white 
wine  were  on  the  table  from  the  beginning,  and  one  took  what 
they  wished.  Coffee  was  served  after  we  had  left  our  seats, 
and  the  speeches,  of  which  we  always  had  too  many,  began 
early  in  the  evening.  Before  breaking  up  we  had  some  sing- 
ing; the  Russians,  Americans  and  Germans  each  in  term  giv- 
ing some  characteristic  songs.  We  sang  the  "Tavern  in  the 
Town,"  and  "Swanee  River." 

{To  he  continued.) 


SONG. 


Had  my  love  but  eyes  to  see 

The  dark  held  no  secrets  from  me, 
Had  my  love  but  power  to  speak 

To  love  had  not  hurt  me  so. 
But  Love  is  blind,  they  say,— 
And  my  Love  is  dumb— I  know. 
Loving  is  pain— let  them  say  what  they  may. 
If  pain  is  not  all, 
All  has  not  come  to  me, 
For  love  were  not  pain 
Could  it  once  speak,  and  see. 

J.  C.  '99. 


/  J 


mi. 


.m>^.. 


